Differences in COVID-19 Vaccination and Experiences among Patients with Hypertension in Colombia and Jamaica during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, hypertensive patients had increased infection and healthcare disruption in many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) with limited vaccine access. The objective of this report is to describe COVID-19 experiences and vaccination uptake among hypertensive patients in Colombia and Jamaica. A cross-sectional study of patients with hypertension was conducted in primary care clinics in both countries between 2021 and 2022.

Social support and ideal cardiovascular health in urban Jamaica: A cross-sectional study.

Recent studies have suggested that high levels of social support can encourage better health behaviours and result in improved cardiovascular health. In this study we evaluated the association between social support and ideal cardiovascular health among urban Jamaicans. We conducted a cross-sectional study among urban residents in Jamaica's south-east health region.

Differences in COVID-19 Vaccination and Experiences among Patients with Hypertension in Colombia and Jamaica during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Background: COVID-19 vaccination and shielding targeted hypertensive patients in low and middle income countries. We describe the COVID-19 experiences of hypertensive patients in Colombia and Jamaica and discuss factors associated with vaccine acceptance.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted between December 2021 and February 2022 in 4 randomly selected primary care clinics in Colombia and 10 primary care clinics in Jamaica.

The Jamaica Salt Consumption Study Protocol: Sodium Intake; Sodium Content in Restaurant Foods; Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices; Spot Urine Sodium Validation.

Background: Excess dietary salt consumption is a major contributor to hypertension and cardiovascular disease. Public education programs on the dangers of high salt intake, and population level interventions to reduce the salt content in foods are possible strategies to address this problem. In Jamaica, there are limited data on the levels of salt consumption and the population's knowledge and practices with regards to salt consumption.

Sodium and potassium consumption in Jamaica: National estimates and associated factors from the Jamaica Health and Lifestyle Survey 2016-2017.

This study aimed to estimate dietary sodium and potassium consumption among Jamaicans and evaluate associations with sociodemographic and clinical characteristics. A cross-sectional study was conducted using data from the Jamaica Health and Lifestyle Survey 2016-2017. Participants were noninstitutionalized Jamaicans aged ≥15 years.

Maternal feeding styles in infancy predict child body mass index z-scores at 72 months: findings from a cohort of Jamaican children.

Objective: To explore whether maternal feeding styles at 12 months predict child Body Mass Index (BMI) z-scores at 72 months and evaluate whether BMI z-scores at 18 months mediates the association.

Methods: Data from 239 mother-child pairs participating in a parenting intervention were analyzed. Feeding information was ascertained at 12 months by questionnaire with feeding styles identified using factor analysis.

Acceptability and use of waist-worn physical activity monitors in Jamaican adolescents: lessons from the field.

Objective: We report our experience with a validated waist-worn activity monitor in Jamaican adolescents attending urban high schools. Seventy-nine adolescents from the Global Diet and Activity Research (GDAR) study, recruited from 5 urban Jamaican high schools (two coeducational (n = 37), two all-female schools (n = 32) and one all-boys school (n = 10)) were asked to wear Actigraph wGT3X-BT accelerometers for 7 days (24-h), removing the device only when bathing or swimming. They also logged wake up and bed times in an activity diary.

Vitamin D Deficiency at Diagnosis Increases All-Cause and Prostate Cancer-specific Mortality in Jamaican Men.

Background: 25 hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] and serum calcium have been associated with incident prostate cancer (PCa). However, there is limited data on whether these metabolites predict survival in men of African descent, a population disproportionately affected by PCa. We studied the relationship of 25(OH)D at PCa diagnosis with all-cause and cancer-specific mortality among Jamaican men and examined whether serum calcium modified any associations.

Health-related quality of life in long-term Caribbean prostate cancer survivors: comparisons with prostate cancer-free men.

Purpose: Prostate cancer (PCa) and its treatment can impact health-related quality of life (HRQoL). There are few studies of HRQoL in long-term PCa survivors of African ancestry from low- and middle-income countries. We examined the effect of PCa treatment on HRQoL of Jamaican PCa survivors compared with cancer-free controls and explored the effect of demographic and clinical factors on these outcomes.

An Evaluation of Regional Cardiovascular Disease and Cancer Research Needs Using Conference Abstracts.

Background: Despite cardiovascular diseases and cancer being the leading causes of premature mortality in the Caribbean region, there is limited local research available to guide a comprehensive response to this epidemic.

Objective: To evaluate cardiovascular disease and cancer research in the Caribbean using abstracts presented at the Caribbean Public Health Agency's (CARPHA) meeting - the longest running annual research conference in the region.

Method: Study data (population, intervention/exposure, comparison and outcome) were extracted from abstracts published for the 2006 to 2018 meetings.

Adolescent Levers for a Diet and Physical Activity Intervention Across Socioecological Levels in Kenya, South Africa, Cameroon, and Jamaica: Mixed Methods Study Protocol.

Background: The increasing burden of noncommunicable diseases that are prevalent in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is largely attributed to modifiable behavioral risk factors such as unhealthy diets and insufficient physical activity (PA). The adolescent stage, defined as 10 to 24 years of age, is an important formative phase of life and offers an opportunity to reduce the risk of noncommunicable diseases across the life course and for future generations.

Objective: The aim of this paper is to describe a protocol for a study using a convergent mixed methods design to explore exposures in the household, neighborhood, school, and the journey from home to school that may influence diet and PA behaviors in adolescents from LMICs.

Maternal characteristics influence infant feeding styles in Caribbean women.

Objective: To examine associations between maternal characteristics and feeding styles in Caribbean mothers.

Design: Participants were mother-child pairs enrolled in a cluster randomised trial of a parenting intervention in three Caribbean islands. Maternal characteristics were obtained by questionnaires when infants were 6-8 weeks old.

A cross-sectional analysis of investigator needs for non-communicable disease research at the University of the West Indies, Mona.

Objective: To describe the needs of academic staff conducting non-communicable disease (NCD) research at the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus in Jamaica.

Methods: Utilizing a cross-sectional design an online survey was created using the research electronic data capture application (REDCap); it was disseminated via email to 708 academic staff members in the Faculties of Medical Sciences and Science & Technology between September and November 2018. Participants were asked to indicate their level of access to expertise, training and equipment for conducting research.

Ideal cardiovascular health in urban Jamaica: prevalence estimates and relationship to community property value, household assets and educational attainment: a cross-sectional study.

Objective: Ideal cardiovascular health (ICH) is associated with greater longevity and reduced morbidity, but no research on ICH has been conducted in Jamaica. We aimed to estimate the prevalence of ICH in urban Jamaica and to evaluate associations between ICH and community, household, and individual socioeconomic status (SES).

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Use of a simplified clinical audit tool to evaluate hypertension and diabetes management in primary care clinics in Jamaica.

This study evaluates a simple clinical audit tool for assessing quality of care and blood pressure control among persons with hypertension in primary care clinics. A systematic random sampling of persons with diabetes mellitus (DM) and hypertension (HTN) attending five health centers in Kingston, Jamaica, was conducted. A modified Ministry of Health paper-based audit tool captured quality of care and outcome indicators (blood pressure and glycemic control).

Central adiposity at diagnosis may reduce prostate cancer-specific mortality in African-Caribbean men with prostate cancer: 10-year follow-up of participants in a case-control study.

Purpose: General and central adiposity are associated with the risk of developing prostate cancer (PCa), but the role of these exposures on PCa survival among men of African ancestry are less studied. This study aimed to investigate the association of anthropometry at diagnosis with all-cause and PCa-specific mortality and evaluate whether androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) modulated this risk.

Methods: Associations between body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) at diagnosis and mortality were examined in 242 men with newly diagnosed PCa enrolled between 2005 and 2007 and re-evaluated 10.

Metabolic characteristics of Africans with normal glucose tolerance and elevated 1-hour glucose: insight from the Africans in America study.

Introduction: Risk of insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, diabetes and cardiac death is increased in Asians and Europeans with normal glucose tolerance (NGT) and 1-hour glucose ≥8.6 mmol/L. As African descent populations often have insulin resistance but a normal lipid profile, the implications for Africans with NGT and glucose ≥8.

Strengthening institutional capacity for equitable health research: lessons from Latin America and the Caribbean.

argue that development of research capacity in Latin America and the Caribbean requires investment in both individuals and regional institutions

Factors associated with elevated blood pressure or hypertension in Afro-Caribbean youth: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Although several studies have identified risk factors for high blood pressure (BP), data from Afro-Caribbean populations are limited. Additionally, less is known about how putative risk factors operate in young adults and how social factors influence the risk of high BP. In this study, we estimated the relative risk for elevated BP or hypertension (EBP/HTN), defined as BP ≥ 120/80 mmHg, among young adults with putative cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors in Jamaica and evaluated whether relative risks differed by sex.

"You Cannot Cure It, Just Control It": Jamaican Adolescents Living With Diabetes.

Although adolescence is considered a difficult time for diabetes management, there is little published qualitative research on adolescent Jamaicans with diabetes. This study investigates the experiences of Jamaican adolescents living with diabetes to determine how their needs can be addressed. Nineteen adolescents participated in two urban and two rural focus groups and were asked to draw pictures representing their experiences.

Inflammation polymorphisms and prostate cancer risk in Jamaican men: Role of obesity/body size.

African ancestry and obesity are associated with higher risk of prostate cancer (PC). In a pilot study, we explored interactions between obesity (as measured by waist to hip ratio (WHR)) and inflammatory SNPs in relation to PC risk among Jamaican men. This study evaluated 87 chemokine and cytokine associated SNPs in obese and normal weight cases (N=109) and controls (N=102) using a stepwise penalized logistic regression approach in multivariable analyses.

Chikungunya: important lessons from the Jamaican experience.

Objectives: To describe the clinical presentation of chikungunya virus (CHIKV) illness in adults during the 2014 outbreak in Jamaica and to determine the predictive value of the case definition.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using clinical data from suspected cases of CHIKV that were reported to the Ministry of Health in April - December 2014. In addition, charts were reviewed of all individuals over 15 years of age with suspected CHIKV based on a diagnosis of CHIKV or "acute viral illness" that presented to four major health centers in Jamaica during the week prior to and the peak week of the epidemic.

Effects of cholesterol, C-reactive protein, and interleukin-6 on prostate cancer risk in a population of African ancestry.

Purpose: To investigate the association between serum cholesterol and prostate cancer and whether any effect may be mediated through inflammatory markers.

Methods: Data from a case-control study of 40-80 years old Jamaican male patients (229 cases; 252 controls) were used. Cases had incident histologically-confirmed prostate cancer and controls were men with normal digital rectal examination and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) < 4 μg/L or free: total PSA > 0.

Educational Health Disparities in Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors: Findings from Jamaica Health and Lifestyle Survey 2007-2008.

Objectives: Socioeconomic disparities in health have emerged as an important area in public health, but studies from Afro-Caribbean populations are uncommon. In this study, we report on educational health disparities in cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors (hypertension, diabetes mellitus, hypercholesterolemia, and obesity), among Jamaican adults.

Methods: We analyzed data from the Jamaica Health and Lifestyle Survey 2007-2008.